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Volume 16 (1)
Volume 16, Issue 1, Winter 1996
J Contin Educ Health Prof 1996; 16(1):33-41
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Learning and Change among Emergency Physicians
Rebecca Garcia, PhD
Ron Newsom, PhD
A b s t r a c t
The relationship between change and the learning necessary to achieve a change
in medical practice was examined in this study. Thirty emergency department physicians were
interviewed to identify changes that they had made in their medical practice behavior during
the last 2 years and the learning strategies and resources used to achieve these changes. The
research indicated that learning and change among these physicians were similar to those
described in the literature for other physicians, for health professionals, and for adults in genral.
The findings show continuing medical education (CME) providers that medical personnel
are at different stages of the learning-to-change process and will use and respond to CME
programs differently. From this study, we conclude that CME providers, when identifying needs
or interests of emergency department physicians, should focus on dissonance, dissatisfaction,
or discrepancies in daily practice rather than on general needs or interest statements.
Dissemination of information in itself is not sufficient to result in change; motivation for change
must also be present. Learning and change are interactive and include both reflective and
active learning, which involve several or more of these resources: the literature, colleagues,
CME programs, and practice.
Keywords: Changes in medical practice, continuing medical education practitioners, emergency
department physicians, learning, strategies for change
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